Ecclesiastes / Chapter 7

Ecclesiastes 7

29 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Chapter 7 is Qohelet's densest collection of proverbs, many of which sound like standard wisdom but are subtly subverted by their context. It opens with a series of 'better than' proverbs — a good name is better than fine oil, the day of death better than the day of birth, sorrow better than laughter. Qohelet then warns against nostalgia, anger, and the extremes of both righteousness and wickedness. The chapter's most controversial section comes in verses 23-29, where Qohelet reports his search for wisdom and his failure to find it, along with a troubling statement about finding something 'more bitter than death' — a woman whose heart is snares and nets.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The 'better than' proverbs in the opening verses systematically invert conventional expectations. A funeral is better than a feast. The end is better than the beginning. Sorrow is better than laughter. These are not nihilistic provocations but the fruit of Qohelet's investigation: knowing that life is vapor, the person who contemplates death honestly lives more wisely than the one who avoids the thought. The strangest passage is verse 16-17, where Qohelet warns against being excessively righteous or excessively wise, and equally against being excessively wicked. This 'golden mean' counsel is unique in the Hebrew Bible and has generated enormous debate — is Qohelet advising moral mediocrity? More likely, he is warning against the self-destructive forms of both piety (scrupulosity, spiritual burnout) and wickedness (reckless self-destruction).

Translation Friction

Verses 26-28 present the most difficult passage in Ecclesiastes for modern readers. Qohelet says he found 'one man among a thousand' but 'not one woman among all these.' The Hebrew is ambiguous and has been read in wildly different ways: as misogyny, as a comment on the specific women in Solomon's court, as a statement about the personified 'Woman Folly' of Proverbs 1-9, or as an acknowledgment of social structures that prevented women from receiving wisdom education. We render the text faithfully and address the complexity in the notes without either endorsing or sanitizing the statement.

Connections

The opening proverbs echo the form and style of Proverbs 10-31 but subvert their optimism. The 'don't say the former days were better' warning (v. 10) anticipates nostalgia as a perennial human temptation. The 'one man among a thousand' echoes Job 33:23 (an angel, 'one among a thousand'). The closing observation that 'God made humanity upright, but they have sought out many schemes' (v. 29) echoes Genesis 1-3, where God created humans good but they chose deviation.

Ecclesiastes 7:1

ט֥וֹב שֵׁ֖ם מִשֶּׁ֣מֶן ט֑וֹב וְי֣וֹם הַמָּ֔וֶת מִיּ֖וֹם הִוָּלְדֽוֹ׃

A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.

KJV A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The wordplay shem/shemen ('name/oil') is untranslatable but drives the first line. The second line shocks: the day of death (yom ha-mavet) is better than the day of birth (yom hivvaldo). This is not death-worship but a claim about completed reputation — at death, a life's meaning is sealed. At birth, everything is uncertain.
Ecclesiastes 7:2

ט֞וֹב לָלֶ֣כֶת אֶל־בֵּית־אֵ֗בֶל מִלֶּ֙כֶת֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה בַּאֲשֶׁ֕ר ה֖וּא ס֣וֹף כׇּל־הָאָדָ֑ם וְהַחַ֖י יִתֵּ֥ן אֶל־לִבּֽוֹ׃

Better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for that is the end of every person, and the living should take it to heart.

KJV It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The bet evel ('house of mourning') confronts the visitor with mortality. The bet mishteh ('house of feasting') distracts from it. Qohelet's counsel is to choose the confrontation: sof kol ha-adam ('the end of every human') is a fact that the living (ha-chay) must internalize (yitten el libbo, 'place in his heart').
Ecclesiastes 7:3

ט֥וֹב כַּ֖עַס מִשְּׂח֑וֹק כִּֽי־בְרֹ֥עַ פָּנִ֖ים יִיטַ֥ב לֵֽב׃

Sorrow is better than laughter, for a grieving face is good for the heart.

KJV Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word ka'as ('sorrow, vexation, grief') is the same word used negatively in 1:18. Here it functions positively: the grief that comes from facing reality honestly improves (yitav) the heart. The paradox is deliberate — what feels bad produces what is good.
Ecclesiastes 7:4

לֵ֤ב חֲכָמִים֙ בְּבֵ֣ית אֵ֔בֶל וְלֵ֥ב כְּסִילִ֖ים בְּבֵ֥ית שִׂמְחָֽה׃

The wise heart dwells in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

KJV The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The classification is sharp: where your heart gravitates reveals what you are. The wise are drawn to the place that teaches (the funeral), and fools to the place that entertains (the party). The word simchah ('joy, pleasure, mirth') is used positively elsewhere in Ecclesiastes, but here it describes the fool's preference for distraction.
Ecclesiastes 7:5

ט֕וֹב לִשְׁמֹ֖עַ גַּעֲרַ֣ת חָכָ֑ם מֵאִ֕ישׁ שֹׁמֵ֖עַ שִׁ֥יר כְּסִילִֽים׃

Better to hear the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools.

KJV It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The contrast between ga'arat chakham ('the rebuke of the wise') and shir kesilim ('the song of fools') sets painful truth against pleasant noise. The rebuke stings but teaches; the song entertains but teaches nothing.
Ecclesiastes 7:6

כִּ֣י כְק֤וֹל הַסִּירִים֙ תַּ֣חַת הַסִּ֔יר כֵּ֖ן שְׂח֣וֹק הַכְּסִ֑יל וְגַם־זֶ֖ה הָֽבֶל׃

For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is vapor.

KJV For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The simile is both acoustic and substantive: thorns (sirim) burn hot and fast under a pot (sir) — the wordplay sirim/sir is intentional — producing noise and light but no lasting heat. The fool's laughter is the same: loud, bright, and gone in a moment.
Ecclesiastes 7:7

כִּ֥י הָעֹ֖שֶׁק יְהוֹלֵ֣ל חָכָ֑ם וִיאַבֵּ֥ד אֶת־לֵ֖ב מַתָּנָֽה׃

For oppression can drive a wise person mad, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

KJV Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Two threats to wisdom: osheq ('oppression, extortion') can make even a wise person holelel ('mad, senseless'), and a mattanah ('gift, bribe') can destroy (ye'abbed) the lev ('heart, mind'). Wisdom is not invulnerable — it can be broken by external pressure and corrupted by money.
Ecclesiastes 7:8

ט֛וֹב אַחֲרִ֥ית דָּבָ֖ר מֵרֵאשִׁית֑וֹ ט֥וֹב אֶ֥רֶךְ־ר֖וּחַ מִגְּבַהּ־רֽוּחַ׃

Better the end of a matter than its beginning; better patience of spirit than pride of spirit.

KJV Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Two 'better than' proverbs in a single verse. The first (acharit davar / reshito) values completion over initiation. The second (erekh ruach / govah ruach) values patience ('long spirit') over arrogance ('high spirit'). Both counsel endurance over impulse.
Ecclesiastes 7:9

אַל־תְּבַהֵ֥ל בְּרוּחֲךָ֖ לִכְע֑וֹס כִּ֣י כַ֔עַס בְּחֵ֥יק כְּסִילִ֖ים יָנֽוּחַ׃

Do not be quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger settles in the lap of fools.

KJV Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb bahel ('to be hasty') echoes 5:1. Quick anger (ka'as) finds a permanent home (yanuach, 'rests, settles') in the cheiq ('bosom, lap') of fools. The image is almost domestic: anger curls up in the fool's lap like a pet and stays.
Ecclesiastes 7:10

אַל־תֹּאמַ֗ר מֶ֤ה הָיָה֙ שֶׁהַיָּמִ֣ים הָרִאשֹׁנִ֔ים הָי֥וּ טוֹבִ֖ים מֵאֵ֑לֶּה כִּ֛י לֹ֥א מֵחׇכְמָ֖ה שָׁאַ֥לְתָּ עַל־זֶֽה׃

Do not say, 'Why were the former days better than these?' For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

KJV Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Qohelet dismisses nostalgia as unwise (lo me-chokmah). The assumption that the past was superior to the present is not based on evidence but on selective memory. This connects to 1:11 — we do not remember the past accurately, so we idealize it.
Ecclesiastes 7:11

טוֹבָ֥ה חׇכְמָ֖ה עִם־נַחֲלָ֑ה וְיֹתֵ֖ר לְרֹאֵ֥י הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃

Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and an advantage for those who see the sun.

KJV Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Wisdom paired with nachalah ('inheritance, property') is the ideal combination — understanding plus resources. The phrase ro'e ha-shemesh ('those who see the sun') means 'the living' and echoes the 'under the sun' framework.
Ecclesiastes 7:12

כִּ֛י בְּצֵ֥ל הַחׇכְמָ֖ה בְּצֵ֣ל הַכָּ֑סֶף וְיִתְר֣וֹן דַּ֔עַת הַחׇכְמָ֖ה תְּחַיֶּ֥ה בְעָלֶֽיהָ׃

For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, but the advantage of knowledge is this: wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.

KJV For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word tsel ('shadow, shade, protection') applies equally to wisdom and money — both shelter a person. But wisdom has a yitron ('advantage') that money lacks: it techayeh ('gives life to, preserves the life of') its owner. This is the one context where Qohelet uses yitron positively.
Ecclesiastes 7:13

רְאֵ֖ה אֶת־מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים כִּ֣י מִ֤י יוּכַל֙ לְתַקֵּ֔ן אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁ֖ר עִוְּתֽוֹ׃

Consider the work of God: who can straighten what he has made crooked?

KJV Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verse echoes 1:15 ('what is crooked cannot be straightened') but now identifies God as the one who made it crooked. This is a claim about divine sovereignty, not divine caprice — God has built certain frustrations into reality, and human beings cannot undo them.
Ecclesiastes 7:14

בְּי֤וֹם טוֹבָה֙ הֱיֵ֣ה בְט֔וֹב וּבְי֥וֹם רָעָ֖ה רְאֵ֑ה גַּ֣ם אֶת־זֶ֤ה לְעֻמַּת־זֶה֙ עָשָׂ֣ה הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים עַל־דִּבְרַ֗ת שֶׁלֹּ֨א יִמְצָ֧א הָאָדָ֛ם אַחֲרָ֖יו מְאֽוּמָה׃

On a good day, enjoy the good. On a bad day, reflect. God has made the one alongside the other so that no one can discover anything about what lies ahead.

KJV In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The practical counsel: enjoy good days while they last and use bad days for reflection. The theological claim is that God made both (gam et zeh le-ummat zeh, 'this one opposite that one') deliberately, so that humans cannot predict the future (lo yimtsa ha-adam acharav me'umah, 'a person cannot find out anything about what comes after').
Ecclesiastes 7:15

אֶת־הַכֹּ֥ל רָאִ֖יתִי בִּימֵ֣י הֶבְלִ֑י יֵ֤שׁ צַדִּיק֙ אֹבֵ֣ד בְּצִדְק֔וֹ וְיֵ֣שׁ רָשָׁ֔ע מַאֲרִ֖יךְ בְּרָעָתֽוֹ׃

I have seen everything in my vaporous days: a righteous person perishing despite his righteousness, and a wicked person living long despite his wickedness.

KJV All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The observation flatly contradicts the retribution theology of Deuteronomy and Proverbs, where righteousness leads to long life and wickedness to destruction. Qohelet reports the opposite: the tsaddiq ('righteous one') perishes be-tsidqo ('in his righteousness') and the rasha ('wicked one') lives long be-ra'ato ('in his wickedness'). The phrase bime hevli ('in my vaporous days') makes his own life the laboratory.
Ecclesiastes 7:16

אַל־תְּהִ֤י צַדִּיק֙ הַרְבֵּ֔ה וְאַל־תִּתְחַכַּ֖ם יוֹתֵ֑ר לָ֖מָּה תִּשּׁוֹמֵֽם׃

Do not be excessively righteous, and do not make yourself overly wise — why should you destroy yourself?

KJV Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The most controversial verse in Ecclesiastes. The warning against excessive righteousness (al tehi tsaddiq harbeh) does not endorse moral mediocrity. It warns against the self-destructive form of piety — legalistic scrupulosity, spiritual perfectionism, or the kind of rigid righteousness that breaks under the weight of an unjust world. The parallel warning against excessive wisdom reinforces this: both righteousness and wisdom, taken to extremes, can destroy (tishshomem, 'be desolated, be appalled, be destroyed') the one who pursues them.
Ecclesiastes 7:17

אַל־תִּרְשַׁ֥ע הַרְבֵּ֖ה וְאַל־תְּהִ֣י סָכָ֑ל לָ֥מָּה תָמ֖וּת בְּלֹ֥א עִתֶּֽךָ׃

Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool — why should you die before your time?

KJV Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The matching warning against excessive wickedness and foolishness. The phrase tamut be-lo ittekha ('die not in your time, die prematurely') suggests that reckless wickedness shortens life. Together with verse 16, the counsel is: neither rigid piety nor reckless wickedness — both paths lead to destruction.
Ecclesiastes 7:18

ט֚וֹב אֲשֶׁ֣ר תֶּאֱחֹ֣ז בָּזֶ֔ה וְגַם־מִזֶּ֖ה אַל־תַּנַּ֣ח אֶת־יָדֶ֑ךָ כִּי־יְרֵ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים יֵצֵ֥א אֶת־כֻּלָּֽם׃

It is good to grasp the one without letting go of the other, for the person who fears God will navigate both.

KJV It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The 'both/and' counsel: hold both warnings together. The phrase yere Elohim ('the one who fears God') introduces the only reliable guide through the tension — reverence for God enables a person to navigate between the extremes of rigid righteousness and reckless wickedness. The verb yetse et kullam ('will come out of/with all of them') means 'will navigate through, will emerge from all situations.'
Ecclesiastes 7:19

הַחׇכְמָ֖ה תָּעֹ֣ז לֶחָכָ֑ם מֵעֲשָׂרָ֥ה שַׁלִּיטִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָי֥וּ בָעִֽיר׃

Wisdom strengthens the wise person more than ten rulers in a city.

KJV Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The proverb affirms wisdom's practical power: it provides more protection (ta'oz, 'gives strength to') than ten shalliṭim ('rulers, officials, powerful men'). Even after all the qualifications of wisdom in this chapter, Qohelet still affirms its practical superiority.
Ecclesiastes 7:20

כִּ֣י אָדָ֔ם אֵ֥ין צַדִּ֖יק בָּאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַעֲשֶׂה־טּ֖וֹב וְלֹ֥א יֶחֱטָֽא׃

For there is no one on earth so righteous that he always does good and never misses the mark.

KJV For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. A universal anthropological statement: no adam ('human being') is a tsaddiq ('righteous person') who only does good and never sins (yecheta, 'misses the mark'). This grounds the warning of verse 16 — since no one is perfectly righteous, claiming excessive righteousness is self-deception.
Ecclesiastes 7:21

גַּ֤ם לְכׇל־הַדְּבָרִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ אַל־תִּתֵּ֖ן לִבֶּ֑ךָ אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־תִשְׁמַע֙ אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֔ מְקַלְלֶֽלָךְ׃

Also, do not pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you.

KJV Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Practical wisdom: eavesdropping on every conversation will inevitably lead to hearing painful things. The servant cursing his master is a specific and humiliating example chosen for maximum impact.
Ecclesiastes 7:22

כִּ֛י גַּם־פְּעָמִ֥ים רַבּ֖וֹת יָדַ֣ע לִבֶּ֑ךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר גַּם־אַ֖תָּ֖ה קִלַּ֥לְתָּ אֲחֵרִֽים׃

For your own heart knows that you too have often cursed others.

KJV For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The appeal to self-knowledge: your lev ('heart, mind') knows (yada) that you have done the same thing. The honesty is bracing — before being offended by your servant's words, remember your own.
Ecclesiastes 7:23

כׇּל־זֹ֖ה נִסִּ֣יתִי בַחׇכְמָ֑ה אָמַ֣רְתִּי אֶחְכָּ֔מָה וְהִ֖יא רְחוֹקָ֥ה מִמֶּֽנִּי׃

All this I tested by wisdom. I said, 'I will be wise,' but it was far from me.

KJV All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The autobiographical report resumes. Qohelet tested (nissiti, 'tried, tested') everything by wisdom but found wisdom itself rechoqah ('distant, far away'). The irony is sharp: the tool of investigation eludes the investigator.
Ecclesiastes 7:24

רָח֥וֹק מַה־שֶּׁהָיָ֖ה וְעָמֹ֣ק ׀ עָמֹ֑ק מִ֖י יִמְצָאֶֽנּוּ׃

What exists is far off and deep — very deep. Who can find it?

KJV That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The doubled amoq amoq ('deep, deep') is a superlative — reality is unfathomably deep. The question mi yimtsa'ennu ('who can find it?') expects the answer: no one. The limits of wisdom are not just practical but ontological — reality itself is beyond reach.
Ecclesiastes 7:25

סַבּ֨וֹתִי אֲנִ֤י וְלִבִּי֙ לָדַ֣עַת וְלָת֔וּר וּבַקֵּ֥שׁ חׇכְמָ֖ה וְחֶשְׁבּ֑וֹן וְלָדַ֙עַת֙ רֶ֣שַׁע כֶּ֔סֶל וְהַסִּכְל֖וּת הוֹלֵלֽוֹת׃

I turned — my mind and I — to understand, to investigate, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to understand that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness.

KJV I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word cheshbon ('explanation, reckoning, accounting, scheme') is a key term that will return in verse 27 and 29. Qohelet seeks not just wisdom but the cheshbon — the underlying logic or calculus of how things work. The pairing of resha/kesel ('wickedness/folly') and sikhlut/holelot ('foolishness/madness') treats moral and intellectual failure as parallel.
Ecclesiastes 7:26

וּמוֹצֶ֨א אֲנִ֜י מַ֣ר מִמָּ֗וֶת אֶת־הָֽאִשָּׁ֡ה אֲשֶׁר֩ הִ֨יא מְצוֹדִ֜ים וַחֲרָמִ֤ים לִבָּהּ֙ אֲסוּרִ֣ים יָדֶ֔יהָ ט֣וֹב לִפְנֵ֤י הָאֱלֹהִים֙ יִמָּלֵ֣ט מִמֶּ֔נָּה וְחוֹטֵ֖א יִלָּ֥כֶד בָּֽהּ׃

And I found something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the one who misses the mark will be captured by her.

KJV And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This verse has been read in multiple ways. The 'woman' may refer to a specific seductress (a particular woman at court), to 'Woman Folly' personified in Proverbs 7 and 9:13-18, or to folly itself metaphorically figured as female. The imagery — metsodim ('hunting nets'), charamim ('fishing nets'), asurim ('bonds, chains') — is the language of entrapment, not of women in general. The tov lifne ha-Elohim ('the one good before God') escapes; the choteh ('one who misses the mark') is caught. The moral framework suggests this is about a specific type of dangerous entanglement rather than a blanket statement about women.
Ecclesiastes 7:27

רְאֵה֙ זֶ֣ה מָצָ֔אתִי אָמְרָ֖ה קֹהֶ֑לֶת אַחַ֥ת לְאַחַ֖ת לִמְצֹ֥א חֶשְׁבּֽוֹן׃

Look, this is what I found, says Qohelet, adding one thing to another to reach a conclusion:

KJV Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase achat le-achat ('one to one') describes a methodical process of accumulating observations. The word cheshbon ('conclusion, reckoning, sum') is the result of the calculation. The feminine form amarah qohelet ('said Qohelet') is unusual and may reflect the feminine grammatical form of the title qohelet.
Ecclesiastes 7:28

אֲשֶׁ֛ר עוֹד־בִּקְשָׁ֥ה נַפְשִׁ֖י וְלֹ֣א מָצָ֑אתִי אָדָ֞ם אֶחָ֤ד מֵאֶ֙לֶף֙ מָצָ֔אתִי וְאִשָּׁ֥ה בְכׇל־אֵ֖לֶּה לֹ֥א מָצָֽאתִי׃

What my soul has sought continually I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I did not find.

KJV Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The most debated verse in Ecclesiastes. The 'one man among a thousand' may echo Job 33:23, where an angelic mediator is 'one among a thousand.' If Qohelet is saying he found one genuinely wise person among a thousand men and none among women, the statement reflects the social reality that women in the ancient Near East were largely excluded from wisdom schools and philosophical education — it says more about access than about capacity. Alternatively, the verse may continue the allegory of verse 26: the 'woman' is personified Folly, and no manifestation of her has led to wisdom. Both readings have ancient support.
Ecclesiastes 7:29

לְבַ֧ד רְאֵה־זֶ֣ה מָצָ֗אתִי אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֧ה הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָאָדָ֖ם יָשָׁ֑ר וְהֵ֥מָּה בִקְשׁ֖וּ חִשְּׁבֹנ֥וֹת רַבִּֽים׃

This alone I have found: God made human beings upright, but they have pursued many schemes.

KJV Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The chapter's conclusion is a creation-and-fall summary. God made ha-adam ('the human being, humanity') yashar ('straight, upright'), but hemmah ('they') sought out chishbonot rabbim ('many calculations, many schemes, many inventions'). The word chishbonot is the plural of cheshbon from verses 25 and 27 — the very accounting Qohelet has been pursuing is part of humanity's deviation from original simplicity. The irony is self-aware: the search for understanding is itself evidence of the fall from uprightness.
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